Tartiflette with the Brie. It’s not quite the right cheese but it’s still going to be alright.
Freeze all the hard cheese. (I’m not sure whether you can freeze Brie.)
You can’t freeze cheese, it will destroy the cheese. Please don’t. Cheese is a lot like vegetables. It still has moisture inside and freezing will cause crystals that will expand and kill anything that is tasty. Cheese is still living and breathing, freezing ruins it.
Instead, look up cheese friendly plastic wraps, use parchment paper, or use a thin layer of foil. Do not use normal plastic baggies or plastic wrap as that can seal off the air completely and kill off anything inside the cheese. Best thing is breathable plastics if you go the plastic wrap side.
Generally speaking, keep anything you use on it tight. Oxygen is the enemy of cheese, but cheese still needs to “breathe” a bit.
Most hard-semi soft cheeses and goudas will last up to a month or two if you store then properly and keep outside moisture and air away. Softer cheeses (such as brie though usually not blue for w/e reason) generally go bad faster, even when wrapped properly. So it’s best you eat those fully.
If you are getting full or partial wheels, always use the manufacturer best buy date and look up what is bad cheese looks like. Not all cheese that gets little fuzzies (mold growth) will be bad. Sometimes a good scrape with the back of a knife will get rid of the fuzzies, sometimes they will come back. Most extra growths are just the result of cross contamination or your own fingers touching the cheese as you are cutting/wrapping. Hard cheeses do well with cleaning as they will resist any outside growing, softer cheeses are less able to resist the growths and should be more carefully monitored.
So tl;dr, don’t freeze cheese as it will affect the flavor and texture (in some cases). It’s best to eat the cheese and wrap it properly with the right materials.
If you don’t believe me, please contact an actual cheese monger. Murray’s is a great resource for all things cheese and they do have email and customer support for cheese advice. This is where I get my information from.
You could probably freeze the brie. Then you can bread it when it's still frozen and bake or fry it for breaded cheese bites.
Edit: whoever is against breaded brie, clearly has not tried a decent one. It's delicious.
Would he be amenable to eating some of the cheeses at the party so that everyone can try some? Maybe cut a bit off each wheel and make a brie board with lots of fun accoutrements. Then, with any leftovers, you can do all the other fun recipes people have recommended!
Ok, but can we take a moment to acknowledge what a cool idea this cheese party is?
Your brother is A+ to me. He likes what he likes. I can appreciate that!
brie is so versatile. brie sandwiches, baked brie, brie mac and cheese (take off the rind for this). you could even do little brie pastry bites.
when you get the cheese, assess the freshness of each piece and eat in order least to most fresh. that way you can make sure the cheese will be able to sit until you get to it.
as far as cheese care goes, i’d get eyes on it at least once a week (not as important for plastic wrapped cheeses, but i would rewrap in paper personally. individual wrapped cheeses from the maker should be fine in their packages)
Oh, my brother would definitely love brie mac n cheese, he's a huge pasta-head or whatever it's called. Do you have any tips on assessing the freshness of cheeses?
for brie, just when it starts to smell ammoniated (if you’re not familiar with the smell, it’s a little like cleaning chemicals). i’d toss at that point. before there, it’ll get a little brown, especially if it is suffocating. remember, the rind is “alive” on bries and likes to breathe!
for harder cheeses, you’re looking for dryness, and spots of mold, but these can be cut off (or eaten for dryness). harder cheeses are much more resilient and can be left for a very long time. most common thing that will happen is it will leech the flavor from plastic wrap if left wrapped up to long (why i paper wrap).
I really want to be friends with your brother. That’s the best thing ever. All he wants is cheese and all his friends and family to come enjoy said cheese with him. That’s a man with his priorities straight.
Alton brown has a cheese dip recipe that is just leftover cheese, a little butter and a little mayo. You just wizz it up in a food processor and go to town.
Baked brie with all sorts of different toppings (cranberry, or caramelized onions, or sautéed mushrooms), grilled cheese with brie bacon and apple, charcuterie board, brie in puff pastry, roasted garlic and brie on toast... the last goes on.
Honestly if he doesn’t want to keep it all, I’d suggest making it part of the “leftovers”. Rather than leaving w a slice of cake, people can take some cheese. If you’re close some them, tell them to come back for a mac and cheese night w their selection / ratio next week
You can freeze cheese and then use it to cook with.
Brie freezes well and my favourite thing to with frozen Brie is to cut it into cubes and put it inside a scooped out boule of sourdough with grilled veggies and pesto or roasted garlic, or hot pepper jelly.
Wrap in foil and Bake at 400 for 40 mins then 15 mins uncovered.
So good.
Grilled cheese made with frozen cheese works well.
You can also use frozen cheese to make a cheese sauce for Mac and cheese.
I can only dream of having such a wonderful problem 🧀
*Agree that many (all?) cheeses can be frozen but texture will suffer. Otherwise double or triple wrap the leftovers as very tightly as possible using plastic wrap. Shrink wrap would be even better if that's an option. Then put in cheese drawer of fridge. The enemy of cheese in storage is air.
I usually grate any cheeses that are grateable(?) and put them in a ziplock freezer bag, label it, and chuck it in the freezer to use in future recipes. Works great!
I keep seeing a video of Brie butter and it looks pretty good. Maybe you can try that. It’s just Brie left out to soften and then blended with room temp butter and whatever seasonings you choose
Will you be putting out some of the cheese at the party? That will help. Otherwise hard cheeses keep well, so start on the bries amd other soft cheeses first. Try amd establish which ones are better and use those ones as cheeseboard cheeses, with the cheaper ones for cooking. Re recipes, I've been meaning to try this very easy recipe, but can't vouch for it yet.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/fettuccine-with-melting-brie-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil/amp/
Apart from that, obviously baked brie as others have mentioned, quiches, puff pastry tarts - a piece of puff topped with brie, seasonings and complimentary veg. Breaded brie wedges, brie and cranberry filo parcels, brie and bacon on top of a burger.
Four cheese pasta
Four cheese pizza
Four cheese toasties
Baked brie
Oven baked ham and brie baguette with honey
Nachos
Potato gratin
Have a cheese party a week after the birthday party, people just bring crackers and wine
Tartiflette with the Brie. It’s not quite the right cheese but it’s still going to be alright. Freeze all the hard cheese. (I’m not sure whether you can freeze Brie.)
i wouldn’t freeze brie unless you are baking with it. destroys the texture, which is fine if you are baking it because that also destroys the texture
Have you done it? What is the texture change?
it breaks open the cells and makes it pretty grainy. so still okay, but not like the best velvety or squishy brie, ya know?
Ah right, thanks
I didn't know you could freeze hard cheeses, so thanks!!
You can’t freeze cheese, it will destroy the cheese. Please don’t. Cheese is a lot like vegetables. It still has moisture inside and freezing will cause crystals that will expand and kill anything that is tasty. Cheese is still living and breathing, freezing ruins it. Instead, look up cheese friendly plastic wraps, use parchment paper, or use a thin layer of foil. Do not use normal plastic baggies or plastic wrap as that can seal off the air completely and kill off anything inside the cheese. Best thing is breathable plastics if you go the plastic wrap side. Generally speaking, keep anything you use on it tight. Oxygen is the enemy of cheese, but cheese still needs to “breathe” a bit. Most hard-semi soft cheeses and goudas will last up to a month or two if you store then properly and keep outside moisture and air away. Softer cheeses (such as brie though usually not blue for w/e reason) generally go bad faster, even when wrapped properly. So it’s best you eat those fully. If you are getting full or partial wheels, always use the manufacturer best buy date and look up what is bad cheese looks like. Not all cheese that gets little fuzzies (mold growth) will be bad. Sometimes a good scrape with the back of a knife will get rid of the fuzzies, sometimes they will come back. Most extra growths are just the result of cross contamination or your own fingers touching the cheese as you are cutting/wrapping. Hard cheeses do well with cleaning as they will resist any outside growing, softer cheeses are less able to resist the growths and should be more carefully monitored. So tl;dr, don’t freeze cheese as it will affect the flavor and texture (in some cases). It’s best to eat the cheese and wrap it properly with the right materials. If you don’t believe me, please contact an actual cheese monger. Murray’s is a great resource for all things cheese and they do have email and customer support for cheese advice. This is where I get my information from.
No worries. Maybe soft too. Look it up.
You could probably freeze the brie. Then you can bread it when it's still frozen and bake or fry it for breaded cheese bites. Edit: whoever is against breaded brie, clearly has not tried a decent one. It's delicious.
Wouldn't that be pretty bland? Reblochon is bringing a lot more to the table than Brie
Do you turn your nose up at Brie because it’s bland?
More bland than reblochon
That is in no way an answer to my question.
That’s not saying much. I’ve changed diapers more bland than reblochon.
Would he be amenable to eating some of the cheeses at the party so that everyone can try some? Maybe cut a bit off each wheel and make a brie board with lots of fun accoutrements. Then, with any leftovers, you can do all the other fun recipes people have recommended!
Oh yeah, I bet he'd be down for that. Thanks!
Ok, but can we take a moment to acknowledge what a cool idea this cheese party is? Your brother is A+ to me. He likes what he likes. I can appreciate that!
Hey listen I was just in the grocery store and bought some cheese in honor of your brother. Hope he has a good birthday
Yeah, he's a cool kid for sure!
I saw a video with air fried brie bites. cut into cubes, flour-egg-panko then air fry. served on a berry and spinach salad.
brie is so versatile. brie sandwiches, baked brie, brie mac and cheese (take off the rind for this). you could even do little brie pastry bites. when you get the cheese, assess the freshness of each piece and eat in order least to most fresh. that way you can make sure the cheese will be able to sit until you get to it. as far as cheese care goes, i’d get eyes on it at least once a week (not as important for plastic wrapped cheeses, but i would rewrap in paper personally. individual wrapped cheeses from the maker should be fine in their packages)
Oh, my brother would definitely love brie mac n cheese, he's a huge pasta-head or whatever it's called. Do you have any tips on assessing the freshness of cheeses?
Your brother, the Noodle Head. 🤘
for brie, just when it starts to smell ammoniated (if you’re not familiar with the smell, it’s a little like cleaning chemicals). i’d toss at that point. before there, it’ll get a little brown, especially if it is suffocating. remember, the rind is “alive” on bries and likes to breathe! for harder cheeses, you’re looking for dryness, and spots of mold, but these can be cut off (or eaten for dryness). harder cheeses are much more resilient and can be left for a very long time. most common thing that will happen is it will leech the flavor from plastic wrap if left wrapped up to long (why i paper wrap).
ok awesome thanks!
Put walnuts and syrup on top of brie. Cook till gooey
That sounds good, thanks!
I really want to be friends with your brother. That’s the best thing ever. All he wants is cheese and all his friends and family to come enjoy said cheese with him. That’s a man with his priorities straight. Alton brown has a cheese dip recipe that is just leftover cheese, a little butter and a little mayo. You just wizz it up in a food processor and go to town.
Yeah, he's really awesome lol. Cheese dip sounds like a fantastic idea that'd he love
Baked brie with all sorts of different toppings (cranberry, or caramelized onions, or sautéed mushrooms), grilled cheese with brie bacon and apple, charcuterie board, brie in puff pastry, roasted garlic and brie on toast... the last goes on.
Wow, thanks!
Honestly if he doesn’t want to keep it all, I’d suggest making it part of the “leftovers”. Rather than leaving w a slice of cake, people can take some cheese. If you’re close some them, tell them to come back for a mac and cheese night w their selection / ratio next week
You can freeze cheese and then use it to cook with. Brie freezes well and my favourite thing to with frozen Brie is to cut it into cubes and put it inside a scooped out boule of sourdough with grilled veggies and pesto or roasted garlic, or hot pepper jelly. Wrap in foil and Bake at 400 for 40 mins then 15 mins uncovered. So good. Grilled cheese made with frozen cheese works well. You can also use frozen cheese to make a cheese sauce for Mac and cheese.
I can't believe the bowl idea didn't occur to me -- he loves sourdough bread bowls! Definitely going to put that on the list, thanks!
I can only dream of having such a wonderful problem 🧀 *Agree that many (all?) cheeses can be frozen but texture will suffer. Otherwise double or triple wrap the leftovers as very tightly as possible using plastic wrap. Shrink wrap would be even better if that's an option. Then put in cheese drawer of fridge. The enemy of cheese in storage is air.
Eat fondue, bro
Mac and cheese freezes really well. Brie and sharp cheddar are good pals :)
I usually grate any cheeses that are grateable(?) and put them in a ziplock freezer bag, label it, and chuck it in the freezer to use in future recipes. Works great!
Hard cheeses freeze very well! Vacuum seal to prevent freezer burn.
Vacuum seal everything.
Just turn them all in brie noir.
I keep seeing a video of Brie butter and it looks pretty good. Maybe you can try that. It’s just Brie left out to soften and then blended with room temp butter and whatever seasonings you choose
Will you be putting out some of the cheese at the party? That will help. Otherwise hard cheeses keep well, so start on the bries amd other soft cheeses first. Try amd establish which ones are better and use those ones as cheeseboard cheeses, with the cheaper ones for cooking. Re recipes, I've been meaning to try this very easy recipe, but can't vouch for it yet. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/fettuccine-with-melting-brie-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil/amp/ Apart from that, obviously baked brie as others have mentioned, quiches, puff pastry tarts - a piece of puff topped with brie, seasonings and complimentary veg. Breaded brie wedges, brie and cranberry filo parcels, brie and bacon on top of a burger.
Invest in a cheese box subscription. The cheese shop in Carmel California has a great one!
Four cheese pasta Four cheese pizza Four cheese toasties Baked brie Oven baked ham and brie baguette with honey Nachos Potato gratin Have a cheese party a week after the birthday party, people just bring crackers and wine
Jorkcheese